Legislators aim to tweak Texas justice

Now some lawmakers want to remake parts of that reputation. Texas can remain tough, they say, but it must be more fair.

As America's No. 1 death-penalty state, some outsiders view Texas as a cowboy nation that coddles no criminals and seldom ponders any mercy for its prisoners.

The 2000 presidential campaign exposed criminal justice controversies to the nation, revealing sleeping defense lawyers and defendants who were convicted with the help of racially charged testimony.

Some of those problems are getting addressed with bills passed or pending in the Texas Legislature.

Prison inmates now have easier access to post-conviction DNA testing. The state Senate has approved an overhaul of the indigent defense system, calling for better-trained court-appointed attorneys and for the first time kicking in state money to aid trial counsel for poor defendants.

Other measures pending include a ban on executing mentally retarded killers, the option of a life-without-parole sentence for capital murder, increased compensation for wrongly imprisoned inmates and even a moratorium on the death penalty.

"It's a new era and people are changing in terms of attitudes," said Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Democrat from Brownsville.

"I think the legislative actions you're seeing by the different members are reflecting what is happening in the world today," he said.

"The glare of the national spotlight did have a tremendous impact on how we view ourselves," he said.

"Although the presidential campaign is behind us, the spotlight won't go away. I just think there's a broad-based recognition that we can do better," he said. "Our criminal justice system is broken. And it needs to be repaired."